Our Teammates

So who are our teammates?  The last time I introduced Scott and Juli Fulks was at our church a couple months ago.  I was so excited that I told our church I felt like a little kid at “show and tell” with his little teddy bear.  Unintentionally I called Scott a teddy bear!  Well, he is much more than this.  Scott is first of all my cousin.  Like it or not he is family.  But Scott through the last eight years has been my best friend, pointing me continually to Christ.  

We studied together at Northland International University where he met his wife Juli.  All three of us shared similar stories since we grew up in Latin America.  Scott and I in Peru while Juli in Ecuador.  We often found ourselves on campus speaking only Spanish and talking about missions. 

During college, Scott and I contemplated ministry together in Peru.  But God separately began to work on our hearts and minds causing us to consider other fields.  We both visited Spain and several other countries.  For many reasons Spain, however became our focus for missions.  We then seriously began to pray about going as a team. All through our seminary years (four to be exact) we prayed and consider this new field for ministry.  When Lorena became my wife, we formed a team of four Spanish-speaking, missionary kids eager to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Yes, we look very much alike!

Approved

We were up Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m. and on the road an hour later.  Praise the Lord, the interview went well, and we were approved with Baptist Mid-Missions.  We are now officially missionaries under BMM.  Thank you to all who were praying for us.  

We are also thankful to the Lord for a safe drive.  It rained pretty much the whole way there and back.  Half way through our drive back home we stopped at a rest area and heard there were even tornado warnings. Thank you also for your prayers of safety.  We have many, many more miles of driving ahead of us. 

Interview in Washington D.C.

This weekend Lorena and I will be driving down to Washington D.C. for our final interview with our mission board.  We had planned to do this last month in Cleveland, Ohio, but had to postpone it because of a bad snow storm.  Now we hope to finalize our approval through Baptist Mid Missions.  Scott and Juli Fulks (our teammates) will have their interview with BMM sometime in May.

BMM is an agency that has been around for a significant period of time.  In fact this gives it some credibility.  This mission board began in 1920 due to the desire of a man to gather more men and women from Baptist churches to carry the Gospel to foreign countries.  It was from his desire that BMM eventually arose.  If you would like to know more about his fascinating story, you can visit their website at http://bmm.org/BMM/AboutUs/. 

They will be the ones who will handle our finances and will serve to keep us connected with our supporting churches.  Please pray for us as we drive there and back. And please pray that we wouldn’t be too nervous.  It’s never fun to have random questions hurled at you for an hour.  Yet it’s a joy because it places us one step closer to getting to Spain.

View Larger Map

Spain: the Least-Evangelized Spanish-Speaking Country

I too was taken back when I first heard this.  There are many reasons that contribute to this fact, but one in particular stands out.  It begins in 1936 when Francisco Franco set himself up as Spain’s dictator.  Franco’s regime was in many ways much like Mussolini’s fascism.  Franco even embraced some of Hitler’s ideals. 

During his dictatorship, however, he “developed a sense that Divine Providence had chosen him to save Spain from atheism and anarchy” (The History of Spain, 155).  Many would add that he also had a desire to preserve a Spanish Catholic country.  Because of this, the doors were bolted shut for missionaries to enter and share the joy of the Gospel.  Spain then became nearly inaccessible to evangelical missionaries. 

It was not until Francisco Franco passed away on November 20^th 1975 that the doors to Spain began to creak open again.  The current Spanish democracy is only 30 years old. The Religious Liberty Law was just signed in 1985 and “evangelical growth followed this freedom” (Operation World 2010: Spain).  Today Spain is open to the Gospel. We are so excited to be part of the growth by sharing Jesus Christ, planting churches, and training leaders in the Least-Evangelized Spanish-Speaking Country.

Francisco Franco

Intentional Relationship Building

A few people have asked us what our strategy is while on deputation.  Typically they ask it like this, “How do you plan to raise the support needed for missions in Spain?”  I explain that our strategy for raising support begins by focusing on building friendships and relationships wherever we go.  In fact this is what Paul seems to model in the book of Acts and even in his letters to supporting churches.  It is clear that his relationship with the church at Philippi was not one sided.  Paul invested just as much in these believers as they did in his ministry.  In fact, Paul knew the believers by name and their struggles; while the Philippians shared Paul’s vision and partnered with him.

 Our desire too is to partner with churches and individuals that share our desire for the joy of the Gospel in Spain.  This first begins by building relationships.  We want to be intentional with these friendships so as to make them lasting and meaningful.  This takes time and great effort not only for us but for the churches.  Even now we are experiencing the delight of creating friendships with people.  All this is done for the joy of sharing the Gospel here and in Spain. 

Faith Baptist Church in Salisbury Maryland

We just got home from driving three hours from Salisbury, Maryland.  For most of the three hours I attempted to consider what all I should say in this update.  There is so much going on in our minds.  First of all it was an awesome experience for us.  Friday evening I was able to give a presentation on Spain and then preach in their missions conference.  Saturday afternoon I spent an hour picking Pastor Reinert’s mind while he stacked wood for next winter. 

We made new friends at Faith Baptist Church and curiously made unexpected connections with people we knew.  In point of fact this church happened to be the home church of an exchange student (Dan Lembeck) in Salamanca, Spain.  He is currently interning with the Albrights and taking classes at the University of Salamanca.  We had no clue until Friday afternoon that this was his church.  Dan, if you read this, your parents are proud of you and miss you. It was such an exciting weekend for us. Thank you to all who were praying for us.

Display Table

Off We Go

Well, this weekend begins officially our start to deputation.  We get to share our burden for mission in Spain for the very first time at Faith Baptist Church in Salisbury Maryland.  What a thrill it is to be able to share God’s Word and share our desire to see men, women, and children hear the joy of the Gospel.  Please pray for us as it is a new experience.  We have much to learn.  I still remember as a kid going with dad to visit churches and setting up the display table, helping get out all the prayer cards, and listening to him tell of his passion for the Gospel in Peru.  Now it’s my turn.  Pray for us!